Cotton-chopper



(No Model.) 4 2Sheets-S'hee't 1. J. H. BROWN.

G OTTON GHOPPER.

Patented Mayv 1, 1883.

(No Moaei.) zsheetsr-sheetz.

J. vH. BROWN.

COTTQN GHOPPER.

No. 276,557. Patented May. 1,1883.-

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' w ygmmag N. PEYERSVPImto-Liwm. Washington. D. C.,

-wheel below the frame beingshown.

UNITED STATES t PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. BROWN, or URBANA, OHIO.

COTTON-SHOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming pari: of vLetters 'Patent No, 276,557, dated May 1, 18,83.

` Application tiled January 23,1833. (No model.)

To all whom t'may concern: i

Be it knownthat I, JOHN H. BROWN, acit- `zen of the United States, residing at Urbana,

iu the county of Champaign and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Cotton-Choppers; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of -the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. l

`My invention relates to improvements in cotton-choppers.

My invention relates to that class of cottonchoppers which are mounted upon wheels,`and which,when operated,cross the rows of plants at right angles instead of operating in line with the rows.

My invention consists in the employment of a series of hoes pivoted upon a shaft below the frame of the machine in an extended line between the wheels of the same. The wheels are provided with internal gear, and operate apinion at either end of a horizontal shaft pivoted upon the frame-bars. This shaft is provided with a series of eccentrics equal in number to the hoes. These eccentrics are attached upon the shaft, and each one operates against the upper end of a hoe-standard, the eccentrics being set so as to bring each one consecutively into operation, thereby causing each succes- `sive hoe to make a stroke as themaobine moves forward and revolves the shaft of the eccentrics. The hoes are retracted by the action of springs.

Two sheets ot' drawings illustrate this invention, Sheet l with Figures l and 2, and Sheet 2 with Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

Fig. l is a rear elevation of my improved cotton-chopper. Fig. 2 is a. top view of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section' through line Fig. 1,enlarged, only that part of the drive- Figs. 4 and 5 are details.

`Aisthe machine, which consists mainly ot' a rectangular frame, in which four parallel bars in the draft-line are connected at front and rear by the crossibars f and g. This frame is supported upon an axle, h, connecting the two wheels B, both of which are provided with internal gear and operate apinion, d', upon either end of the shaft o, which revolves in boxes bolted upon the top ot the framelbars f.

Mounted upon the shaft 0 are seen the ecoentrios c. These are secured upon the shaft so as to operateagainstthehoeestandardsa above their pivotal points, each eccentric being placed in the front of and in line with its hoe-` standard. In the construction herewith presented there are six hoes, b, seen attached to thelower ends of the standards a at the groundline. These hoes are set at nearly right angles with their standards, and thelatter are pivoted, near their middle points, upon the shafts. This shaft is suspended below the frame and in front of the axle 7i by hangers p, bolted at either side of the machine to the two outer side bars. The hangers are provided with a longitudinal slot, p', to allow of the adjustment up or down of the hoe-shaft s. In addition to this, a pair ot' vertical racks, j, opposite each end of a short shaft, t', are also pivotally con-- nected at their lower ends with the hoe-shaft, and are operated to elevate and depress the hoeshaft by the lever l', extending upward from said shaft t, to which latter a pair of toothed segments, 7c, are attached, andl engage with the teeth ot' the two racks j to operate them.` To throw the mechanism in and out of gear a clutch is provided upon each end of the eccentric-shaft o. These are operated by a hand-lever, l, pivoted centrally over the ma' chine to the axle ot the same as its fulcrum,

' and iiexibl y connected above it to a long transverse lever, r, which is in turn connected at the ends with secondary levers, one of which extends into a groove in the sliding clutch and operates it when the hand-lever l is thrown from left to right, or vice versa. To keep the `upper ends'oi the hoe-shafts in contact with the eccentric in front ol' it, the wires s are provided. These are attached to the rear ofthe hoestandard, near the lower end ofthe same, and extend up to the rear cross-bar, y, and are spiraled at their upper ends to give them a strong spring-tension, and thus keep the hoe- 'standards trtightly against the ecce'ntrics c.

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per moves forward, the gear n the drive-wheels B, engaging with the pinions d on the ends of the shaft o, the latter is revolved sufficiently rapid to set the hoes b in motion from the rotation of the eccentrics c in contact with the upper ends of their standar-dsa'. Each hoe has a stroke ot' about three to four inches, and as the machine crosses the rows of cotton-plants they are thinned out to the desired stand by the hoes.

I claim as my inventionl. In acotton-chopper, the combination, wi th the frame, axle, and driving-wheels having internal gear, of the transverse revoluble shaft pivoted upon the frame-bars, and provided at either end with a pinion and sliding clutch, and adapted to aotuate a series of hoes pivoted upon a shaft below said frame by the rolling Contact of a series of eceentrics mounted upon said revoluble shaft with the standards of said hoes, substantially as set forth.

2. A cotton-chopper having a series of hoes suspended by their standards from a shaft on which the said standards are pivoted beneath the frame and forward of the axle, said hoes being operated by the engagement of a series ot'eccentrics with the standards above their pivotal points, substantially as set forth.

3. In a cotton-chopper having its hoes actuated bya series of eccentrics upon a transverse shaft driven from the main wheels, as described, the combination, with the several operative devices and the supporting-frame, of means for elevating and depressing the hoeshaft, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the pivoted hoestandards and their operative devices, of the spring-wires sf, connecting said standards with the rear bar, g, of the frame, for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with thehoe-shaft and its hangers provided with guide-slots therein, of the racks extendingfrom said hoe-shaft, the toothed segments engaging therewith, the connected levers for operating the same, and the 4 frame whereby said devices are supported, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature'in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses JOHN H. BROWN.

B. C. CONVERSE, G. M. GRIDLEY. 

